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Ground-level ozone air pollution is a serious and persistent national
public health threat. Ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx), a primary
pollutant that helps form ozone, drift into Pennsylvania from areas
to the west and south of the Commonwealth. Therefore, air crossing
Pennsylvania’s borders is often already unhealthy - above federal
health-based standards. The following information describes
how Pennsylvania has been addressing this issue.
Animated Maps
See how ozone pollution was transported from areas outside of Pennsylvania
by viewing EPA's
AIRNOW animated maps.
Ozone Transport Commission
The 1990 Clean Air Act Ammendments established the Ozone Transport
Commission (OTC) to coordinate the development of control plans
for ground-level ozone in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region.
The OTC developed a NOx Memorandum of Understanding that Pennsylvania
signed, leading to regulations that reduced NOx emissions by 55
to 65 percent from 1990 levels. This program will be replaced in
2003 by the NOx Budget Program contained in Chapter 145 (see below).
Recent Proposals
 Final 2010-2013 Annual and Ozone Season CAIR Nitrogen Oxides (Nox) Allowance Allocations
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is providing notice of the finalization of the 2010-2013 annual and ozone season CAIR NOx allowance allocations. On December 10, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a final rule approving the Pennsylvania CAIR State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision. (74 FR 65446, Dec. 10, 2009). Therefore, these allocations replace those under the EPA’s Federal Implementation Plan.
Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Mr. Randy Bordner, Chief, Stationary Source Section, Bureau of Air Quality at (717) 772-3921 or to ranbordner@state.pa.us.
Proposed 2010-2013 Annual and Ozone Season CAIR Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Allowance Allocations
DEP is providing notice and an opportunity to comment on the proposed 2010-2013 annual and ozone season CAIR NOx allowance allocations during the required 15-day public comment period. The notice of the final annual and ozone season CAIR NOx allowance allocations will not be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin until EPA adopts a final rule approving the Pennsylvania CAIR SIP revision. Written comments on the proposed annual and ozone season CAIR NOx allowance allocations should be sent to the attention of Mr. Randy Bordner, Environmental Group Manager, Air Resource Management Division, Bureau of Air Quality, DEP, P.O. Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8468 or by e-mail to ranbordner@state.pa.us no later than November 2, 2009. Any written comments (including e-mails) should include the name, affiliation (if any), mailing address and telephone number of the interested person and contain “Proposed 2010-2013 Annual and Ozone Season CAIR Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Allowance Allocations” in the subject line.
Measures Under Consideration by the Ozone
Transport Commission
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
is seeking comments on potential control measures under consideration by the Ozone
Transport Commission (OTC). DEP has scheduled three public meetings in August
2009 to present an overview of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements, the
need for Pennsylvania to adopt additional measures for the achievement and maintenance
of the ozone and fine particulate standards, and the potential control measures
under consideration by the OTC. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
will also be accepting public comments until August 14. The OTC is a multi-state
organization created under the Clean Air Act that is responsible for advising
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on pollution transport issues and
for developing and implementing regional solutions to the ground-level ozone problem
in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The Commonwealth is a member of the
OTC.
Section 126 Information
The OTAG process demonstrated that states to Pennsylvania’s
west and south contribute significantly to violations of the ozone
standard in the Commonwealth and throughout the northeast. Under
Section 126 of the Clean Air Act, Pennsylvania petitioned the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
to establish emission limitations on groups of sources necessary
to achieve and maintain the ozone standard in Pennsylvania.
Section 110 Information
EPA
issued final regulations under Section 110 of the Clean Air Act
to require 22 eastern states with ozone problems to substantially
reduce NOx emissions that are the primary cause of transported ozone.
This is known as the Section 110 NOx SIP Call (State Implementation
Plan). In other words, affected states are to develop a plan to
reduce total summertime emissions of nitrogen oxides by 28 percent
beginning in the year 2003.
NOx Budget Program, Chapter
145, Subchapter A
Pennsylvania's NOx reduction program was adopted in 1994, and the
second phase of the program, including emissions trading, was implemented
in 1999. Resulting emissions of NOx from affected sources in 1999
were reduced 60 percent from 1990 levels. Pennsylvania's Chapter
145 regulations, the answer to EPA's Section 110 NOx SIP Call, will
improve on the market-based trading program starting in 2003.
Subchapter B, C
Phase II of the NOx SIP Call requires states to control emissions from cement kilns and large internal combustion engines by May 1, 2005. Pennsylvania adopted regulations to meet these requirements contained under Subchapter B and C to Chapter 145 on December 11, 2004.
Pennsylvania Bulletin
Frequently Asked Questions
Compliance Assessment Procedures
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